Alkalitolerant xylanases

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses enzymes having xylanase considerable activity at a pH of 9.0 and a temperature of 70° C. The enzymes are obtainable from deposited strains which are related to alkaliphilic Bacilli. The enzymes are suited for use in paper and pulp production processes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to novel microorganisms and to novel enzymes. More specifically the enzymes are alkalitolerant xylanases. These xylanases are obtainable from gram-positive, alkalitolerant microorganisms. The xylanases are applicable under conditions used in the paper and pulp industry i.e. pH=9 and T=70° C.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Xylan is a component of plant hemicellulose. Xylan consists of 1,4-glycosidically linked β-D-xylose. Usually xylans have side chains containing xylose and other pentoses, hexoses and uronic acids.

In the paper production process the bleaching of pulp is an important step. Schematically the steps used in the pulp treatment in paper and pulp industry is performed as follows:

Pulp is treated at pH 10-12 at 80° C. to remove most of the lignin in the so-called oxygen delignifying step. The remaining pulp contains 2-5% of lignin. This lignin gives the pulp the brown color. Subsequently, the pulp is bleached in a multistage bleaching process. In this bleaching chemicals such as chlorine, chlorine dioxide, hydrogenperoxide and/or ozone are used to obtain a pulp for high quality paper.

Chlorine and chlorine-containing chemicals are often used to remove lignin, which is responsible for the brownish color of the pulp. Use of the indicated chemicals leads to the formation of dioxin and other chlorinated organic compounds. These compounds form a threat to the environment and there is a growing tendency to omit the use of chemicals giving rise to similar waste products.

This has prompted a tendency to develop chlorine-free processes; total chlorine free (TCF) and elementary chlorine-free (ECF). In these processes hydrogen peroxide or ozone is used for bleaching.

It has been found that the introduction of an enzymatic step in the paper and pulp preparation process has several advantages.

Xylanases have been found to be very useful in the paper and pulp processing. Xylanases have been reported to increase the extractability of lignins from the pulp. Xylanases are mostly used after the oxygen delignifying step.

Xylanases cleave the hemicellulose chain linking the lignin to the cellulose chain. After xylanase treatment the lignin is more easily removed in the subsequent steps.

Therefore the use of xylanases leads to a reduction of the consumption of active chlorine in prebleaching of 25-30%. This reduction of chlorine does not afflict the quality parameters of the resulting paper (Viikari et al. 1986. Proc. of the third Int. Conf. Biotechnology in Pulp and Paper Ind., Stockholm, p.67-69 and Bajpai and Bajpai. 1992. Process Biochemistry. 27: 319-325).

The xylanase treatment also reduces the need for other chemicals in the bleaching process.

The use of xylanases from fungal sources in bleaching of kraft pulp has been reported. The pH and temperature optima of these enzymes are: pH=3-5 and T=30-50° C. These values are not ideal for the use in the bleaching process where the prevailing conditions are pH≧9 and temperature ≧70° C.

Xylanases from bacterial origin, with higher pH and/or temperature optima have also been reported for use in the bleaching process. Some of these are the following:

Bacillus pumilus (pH=7-9, T=40° C., Nissen et al., 1992. Progress in Biotechnology 7: 325-337), Dictyoglomus thermophilum (pH=6-8, T=70° C., European patent application EP 0 511 933), B.stearothermophilus T-6 (pH=9.0, T=65° C., Shoham, Y. et al. (1992) Biodegradation 3, 207-18), B.stearothermophilus (pH=9, T=50° C., WO 91/18976) and Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus (68° C., Deblois and Wiegel. 1992. Progress in Biotechnology 7: 487-490).

Even though most of the above cited xylanases show activity at pH≧9 and temperature >70° C., their effectiveness under industrial application conditions (i.e. during the bleaching of pulp), in terms of e.g. increased brightness of the pulp is only limited and can vary significantly (see e.g. WO 91/18976, highest increase in pulp brightness at pH 9 and 50° C. is only 0.5% ISO brightness).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to xylanases having considerable activity at pH 9.0 and at a temperature of 70° C., and which is characterized in that the xylanase is obtainable from a microorganism of which the 16S ribosomal DNA sequence shares more than 92% identity with the 16S ribosomal DNA sequence of strain DSM 8721 as listed in SEQ ID NO 20.

The present invention also relates to xylanases having considerable activity at pH 9.0 and at a temperature of 70° C., and characterized in that the xylanase is obtainable from a microorganism selected from the group consisting of the strains deposited under the following deposition numbers: CBS 666.93, 667.93, 669.93, and 673.93.

The present invention further relates to xylanases having considerable activity at pH 9.0 and a temperature of 70° C. further characterized in that the xylanase produces an increase in % ISO brightness of soft-wood pulp over non-enzymatically treated pulp of at least 1.0, preferably an increase in % ISO brightness of soft-wood pulp between 1.5 and 5.0, in an ECF pulp bleaching process wherein the enzyme treatment of the pulp is carried out at a pH of 9.0 at a temperature of 65° C.

The present invention also relates to xylanases having considerable activity at pH 9.0 and a temperature of 70° C. further characterized in that the xylanase produces an increase in % ISO brightness of soft-wood pulp over non-enzymatically treated pulp of at least 1.0, preferably an increase in % ISO brightness of hard-wood pulp between 1.2 and 3.0, in an ECF pulp bleaching process wherein the enzyme treatment of the pulp is carried out at a pH of 9.0 at a temperature of 65° C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to microorganisms which have been isolated from soil and water samples collected in the environment of alkaline soda lakes in Kenya, East-Africa. These microorganisms have been characterized as being alkaliphilic, Gram-positive and belonging to the genus Bacillus (see below).

The microorganisms have subsequently been screened using a xylan-agar diffusion assay. Strains which showed a clearing zone in this test were isolated as potential xylanase producing strains.

The strains were grown at pH 10, and T=45° C. After centrifugation the culture broth was tested for xylanase activity in an assay at pH=9 and T=80° C. (Example 2).

Eight different strains were found to produce xylanase activity under the indicated conditions. These microorganisms have been deposited at the Centraal Bureau voor de Schimmelcultures in Baarn, the Netherlands under deposition number CBS 666.93, 667.93, 668.93, 669.93, 670.93, 671.93, 672.93, 673.93.

Most of these strains have been send to the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH (DSM) for an independent identification using comparisons of 16S ribosomal DNA sequences as described by Nielsen et al. (1994, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 117, 61-65). On the basis of this sequence comparison the eight strains can be assigned to the genus Bacillus and are most related to B.alcalophilus (DSM 485^(T)). The sequence comparison further shows that the eight strains fall into two groups. The first group is very similar or almost identical to DSM 8721 and comprises strains 1-16-2, 1-25-2, and 1-43-3 (CBS 670.93, 671.93, 672,93, respectively). The second group is most related to DSM 8718 and comprises strains 2-47-1, 2-M-1, 1-47-3 and 2-26-2 (CBS 666.93, 667.93, 669.93 and 673.93), respectively. The classification of the deposited strains into these two groups is confirmed by xylanase zymograms.

Surprisingly, we have found that the xylanases obtainable from the first group of strains, i.e. the strains most related to DSM 8721 (comprising 1-16-2, 1-25-2, and 1-43-3) show a superb performance in the bleaching of pulp. This performance is exemplified by the increased brightness of both soft-wood and hard-wood pulp when treated with the enzymes of the present invention and is most pronounced on softwood pulp. In this respect, the performance of the xylanases obtainable from most of the strains in the second group, i.e. the group related to DSM 8718, is much less, although the xylanases obtainable from strain 1.47.3. shows the best performance on hard-wood pulp as compared to the other strains. The increase in brightness obtained with the enzymes of the present invention is at least 1.0, expressed as Δ Final ISO Brightness over the non-enzymatically treated control pulp. Preferably the brightness increase in the case of soft-wood pulp is between 1.5 and 5.0, and in the case of hard-wood pulp between 1.2 and 3.0.

The present invention discloses enzymes having xylanase activity and having a considerable xylanase activity at pH 9 and at a temperature of about 70° C. Said enzymes are obtainable from the deposited strains. Said enzymes are also obtainable from mutants and variants of the deposited strains.

With the expression `considerable activity` is meant that the enzymes of the present invention have at pH=9, 40% of the activity they possess at s pH=7, preferably this is 60%, more preferably about 80%. In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention the activity of the xylanase is higher at pH=9 than at pH=7.

The present invention also discloses a process for the production of subject xylanases, which can be developed using genetic engineering. As a first step the genes encoding the xylanases of the present invention can be cloned using λ-phage (expression-) vectors and E.coli host cells. Alternatively, PCR cloning using consensus primers designed on conserved domains may be used. On the basis of homology comparisons of numerous xylanases a distinction in different classes has been proposed (Gilkes et al., 1991, Microbiol. Rev. 55, 303-315). For each class specific conserved domains have been identified. Class F and class G xylanases can be identified based on this determination. DNA-fragments in between two conserved domains can be cloned using PCR. Full length clones can be obtained by inverse PCR or by hybridization cloning of gene libraries. Expression of some of the genes encoding the xylanases of the present invention in E.coli is shown to give an active protein. Said proteins are active at pH 9 at a temperature of 70° C.

After a first cloning step in E.coli, a xylanase gene can be transferred to a more preferred industrial expression host such as Bacillus or Streptomyces species, a filamentous fungus such as Aspergillus, or a yeast. High level expression and secretion obtainable in these host organisms allows accumulation of the xylanases of the invention in the fermentation medium from which they can subsequently be recovered.

The present invention further relates to a process for the preparation of xylanases obtainable from the deposited strains and having considerable activity at a pH of 9 at a temperature of 70° C. The process comprises cultivation of the deposited microorganisms or recombinant host microorganisms expressing genes encoding the xylanases of the present invention in a suitable medium, followed by recovery of the xylanases.

The enzymes of the present invention have been shown to have a considerable activity on oat spelt xylan and on birchwood xylan.

The enzymes of the present invention have further been tested for their bleaching activities. The enzyme preparations, xylanases, are capable of delignifying wood pulp at a temperature of at least 80° C. and a pH of at least 9. The expression "wood pulp" is to be interpreted broadly and is intended to comprise all kinds of lignocellulosic materials. The enzymes of the present invention can be used immediately after the oxygen delignifying step in the paper and pulp preparation process described above. Preferably, the enzymes are used before the oxygen delignifying step. In this step the lignin concentration is much higher therefore the effect of the application of the xylanase is much larger.

The enzymes of the present invention have been tested for their activity on both hardwood and softwood pulps. Apart from the kappa reduction, also the increase in brightness has been determined on two types of pulp, both soft-wood and hard-wood kraft pulp in ECF bleaching experiments. It follows that the increased brightness produced by the xylanases of the present invention would also allow to reduce the amount of bleaching chemicals while achieving the same brightness as obtained without the use of enzymes.

Furthermore, the inventions relates to the applications of the enzyme preparations of the invention, particularly to a process in which wood pulp is treated with said enzyme preparations according to the invention, and a wood pulp and a fluff pulp treated with the enzyme preparations according to the invention.

The invention further relates to paper, board and fluff pulp made from a wood pulp treated with the enzyme preparations according to the invention.

The enzyme preparations of the present invention have further been shown to have a low cellulase activity.

EXAMPLE 1 Isolation of Alkali- and Thermotolerant Xylanases

Samples

Soil and water samples were collected in the environments of alkaline soda lakes in Kenya, East Africa.

Screening for xylanase producing microorganisms

Two methods were applied for the isolation of xylanase-producing microorganisms:

i) The soil and water samples were suspended in 0.85% saline solution and directly used in the xylan-agar diffusion assay.

ii) The soil and water samples were incubated in a xylan containing liquid minimal medium or GAM-medium for 1 to 3 days at 45, 55 and 70° C. respectively. Cultures that showed bacterial growth were analyzed for xylanase activity using the xylan-agar diffusion assay.

Media

The minimal medium (pH 9.7) used in the xylan-agar diffusion assay and the enrichment procedure, consisted of KNO₃ 1%, Yeast extract (Difco) 0.1%, KH₂ PO₄ 0.1%, MgSO₄.7H₂ O 0.02%, Na₂ CO₃ 1%, NaCl 4% and a mixture (0.05% each) of four commercially available xylans [Xylan from oat spelts (Sigma X-0376), Xylan from birchwood (Sigma X-0502), Xylan from oat spelts (Serva 38500), Xylan from larchwood (ICN Biochemicals 103298)]. For solidification 1.5% agar is added.

The complex medium (GAM) used for enzyme production consisted of Peptone (Difco) 0.5%, Yeast extract (Difco) 0.5%, Glucose.H₂ O 1%, KH₂ PO₄ 0.1%, MgSO₄.7H₂ O 0.02%, Na₂ CO₃ 1%, NaCl 4%. The pH is adjusted to 9.5 with 4M HCl after which 1% Xylan (Serva) is added.

Xylan-agar diffusion assay

Cell suspensions in 0.85% saline solution were plated on Xylan containing minimal medium. After incubation for 1 to 3 days at 45 and 55° C. respectively, the strains that showed a clearing zone around the colony were isolated as potential xylanase producing microorganisms.

Strains that showed clearing zones in the agar diffusion assay were fermented in 25 ml GAM-medium in 100 ml shake flasks in an Incubator Shaker (New Brunswick Scientific, Edison, N.J., USA), at 250 r.p.m. at 45° C. for 72 hours. Xylanase activity was determined in the culture broth at pH 9 and 80° C. (Example 2).

Isolation of crude enzyme preparations

Shake flask fermentations were carried out in 2 l erlenmeyer flasks containing 500 ml GAM-medium. The flasks were incubated in an orbital incubator at 250 r.p.m. at 45° C. for 48 to 96 hours. The cells were separated from the culture liquid by centrifugation (8000 rpm). The cell-free culture liquid was concentrated by ultrafiltration, using an Amicon Stirred Cell Model 8400 with YM5 filter.

EXAMPLE 2 Characterization of Alkali- and Thermotolerant Xylanases

Analytical methods

Assays for xylanase activity are performed using modified procedures of the Sumner assay (J. Biol.Chem. 1921. 47 5-9).

Procedure 1

Xylanase activity on Oat Spelts xylan

A test tube is filled with 200 μl 4% Oat spelts xylan suspension, 600 μl aliquots of cell-free culture broth (Example 1) diluted in the appropiate buffer. The test tube is incubated in a waterbath for 15 minutes. After the incubation, 7.2 ml DNS (Dinitrosalicylic acid) reagent is added. The mixture is heated in a waterbath at 100° C. for 10 minutes. After heating the mixture the test tube is cooled on ice. The absorbance is measured at 575 nm. To eliminate the background absorbance of the enzyme samples a control experiment was executed as follows: a tube with substrate incubated under the same conditions as the test tube. After incubation 7.2 ml DNS and the enzyme preparation is added (in this order). One unit of xylanase (xU) activity is defined as the amount of enzyme producing 1 μmol of xylose from xylan equivalent determined as reducing sugar per minute.

Actual measuring conditions were pH 7, 9 and 70 and 80° C. The buffers were Phosphate pH 7 and Borate/KCl pH 9. The results are shown in table 1 as relative activity.

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Relative xylanase activities on Oat Spelts xylan                                 RELATIVE XYLANASE ACTIVITY ON                                                  OAT SPELTS XYLAN                                                                     strain         70 ° C.                                          Nr      number         pH 7   pH 9                                             ______________________________________                                         1       1-47-3         100    82                                                 2 2-47-1 100 51                                                                3 2-m-1 100 67                                                                 4 1-16-2 100 55                                                                5 1-25-2 100 40                                                                6 2-16-1 100 63                                                                7 1-43-3 100 48                                                                8 2-26-2 100 59                                                              ______________________________________                                    

The values for pH9 in Table 1 represent the percentage of activity retained at pH9 relative to the activity at pH7 set at 100.

The strains indicated in Tables 1, 2 and 3 as 1 to 8 have been deposited under the following deposition numbers;

2-47-1=CBS 666.93, 2-m-1=CBS 667.93

2-16-1=CBS 668.93, 1-47-3=CBS 669.93

1-16-2=CBS 670.93, 1-25-2=CBS 671.93

1-43-3=CBS 672.93, 2-26-2=CBS 673.93

Procedure 2

Xylanase activity on Birchwood xylan

The same method as described in procedure 1 is used. Instead of a 4% Oat Spelts xylan suspension a 4% Birchwood xylan suspension is used. The test conditions were: pH 7 and 9 and 70 and 80° C., respectively. The results are shown in table 2.

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Relative xylanase activities on Birchwood xylan                                                    pH 7  pH 9     pH 7  pH 9                                    Nr strain 70° C. 70° C. 80° C. 80° C.            ______________________________________                                         1     1-47-3    100     72       100   10                                        2 2-47-1 100 80 100  9                                                         3 2-M-1 100 90 100  8                                                          4 1-16-2 100 40 100 42                                                         5 1-25-2 100 24 100 65                                                         6 2-16-1 100 74 100 11                                                         7 1-43-3 100 23 100 55                                                         8 2-26-2 100 69 100 18                                                       ______________________________________                                    

The values for pH9 in Table 2 represent the percentage of activity retained at pH9 relative to the activity at pH7 set at 100.

EXAMPLE 3

Deignification assay at 70° C. and 80° C.

Kappa assay

The kappa assay's were performed according to the TAPPI T236 protocol with some modifications. The enzyme solution was added at a dose of 10×U/g pulp (based on Oat spelts xylan for the pulp nb 1 and based Birchwood xylan for pulps 2 and 3) (dry weight) and incubated for 2 hours at pH 9, 70 and 80° C. The control, was pulp incubated for the same period under the same conditions without enzyme addition. Tree different pulps were used:

1] Kraft softwood pulp

2] Kraft softwood pulp after oxygen delignification

3] Kraft hardwood pulp after oxygen delignification

    ______________________________________                                         Pulp properties (nb 2 and 3):                                                                  Hardwood Softwood                                                Birch 80% spruce, 20% pine                                                   ______________________________________                                         Brightness, % ISO                                                                              50.8     35.8                                                    Kappa number 11.0 16.7                                                         Viscosity, dm.sup.3 /kg 979 1003                                               Calcium, ppm 1900  2600                                                        Copper, ppm  0.3  0.6                                                          Iron, ppm  5.1  11                                                             Magnesium, ppm 210  270                                                        Manganese, ppm  25  70                                                       ______________________________________                                    

The difference between the kappanumber with enzyme addition and the kappanumber without enzyme addition is called the kappa reduction and is a value for delignification. The kappa reductions are shown in table 3A.

                  TABLE 3A                                                         ______________________________________                                         Kappa reductions at pH 9 and 70 ° C. and 80 ° C.                                   pH 9 70° C.                                                                       pH 9 70° C.                                                                      pH 9 80° C.                            Softwood kraft Softwood O2 Hardwood O2                                        Strain pulp (nb 1) delig (nb 2) delig (nb 3)                                  Nr Number kappa red kappa red kappa red                                      ______________________________________                                         1    1-47-3   1.7         0.3                                                    2 2-47-1 2                                                                     3 2-M-1 2                                                                      4 1-16-2 1.8                                                                   5 1-25-2 1.6 1.1 0.5                                                           6 2-16-1 0.4                                                                   7 1-43-3 1.1 1.2 1                                                             8 2-26-2 0.5                                                                 ______________________________________                                          blanks were not determined.                                              

Delignification assay at 60° C.

Kappa assay

The kappa assay's were performed according to the Tappi T236 protocol with some modifications. The enzyme solution was added at a dose of 10×U/g pulp (based on birchwood xylan) (dry weight) and incubated for 2 hours at pH 9, 60° C. The control, was pulp incubated for the same period under the same conditions without enzyme addition. Two different pulps were used:

Kraft hardwood pulp after oxygen delignification (nb 2).

Kraft softwood pulp after oxygen delignification (nb 4).

Pulp properties (nb 2 and 4)

    ______________________________________                                                        Hardwood                                                          Birch 80% Softwood                                                           ______________________________________                                         Brightness, % ISO                                                                               50.8     40.0                                                   Kappa number 11.0 10.1                                                         Viscosity, dm.sup.3 /kg 979 940                                                Calcium, ppm 1900  1800                                                        Copper, ppm  0.3  0.3                                                          Iron, ppm  5.1  5.2                                                            Magnesium, ppm 210 250                                                         Manganese, ppm  25  35                                                       ______________________________________                                    

The difference between the kappanumber with enzyme addition and the kappanumber without enzyme addition is called the kappa reduction and value for delignification. The kappa reductions are shown in table 3B.

                  TABLE 3B                                                         ______________________________________                                         Kappa reductions at pH 9 and 60° C.                                                              Softwood                                                                              Hardwood                                          Strain O2 delig O2 delig                                                      Nr number kappa red kappa red.                                               ______________________________________                                         1      1-47-3        0.0                                                         2 2-47-1 0.9                                                                   3 2-M-1 0.5 0.6                                                                4 1-16-2 1.1 0.7                                                               5 1-25-2 0.9 0.2                                                               6 2-16-1 0.7 0.2                                                               7 1-43-3 1.1                                                                   8 2-26-2 0.7                                                                 ______________________________________                                    

EXAMPLE 4

Cellulase activity

Assay's for cellulase activity were performed using a modified procedure of the PAHBAH (parahydroxybenzoicacid hydrazide) assay (Anal. Biochem. 1972. 47: 273-279)

0.9 ml 0.5% CMC (carboxymethylcellulose) is incubated with 0.1 ml diluted enzyme preparation and incubated for 60 minutes at pH 9 and 70° C. after the incubation 3 ml PAHBAH reagent (10 ml 5% PAHBAH in 0.5M HCl was mixed with 40 ml 0.5M NaOH=PAHBAH reagent) is added and the reaction mixture is heated for 5 minutes at 100° C. After cooling on ice the absorbance is measured at 420 nm. To eliminate the background absorbance of the enzyme samples a control experiment was executed as follows: the CMC was incubated for 30 minutes at pH 9, 70° C. and the enzyme solution is added after adding of the PAHBAH reagent. One cellulase unit (cU) is defined as the quantity of enzyme necessary to produce one μMol glucose per minute (using CMC as substrate) and is related to the xylanase activity. All strains tested showed a cellulase activity less than 10 mU CMCase per unit of xylanase.

EXAMPLE 5

Cloning of xylanase genes and fragments thereof

Chromosomal DNA was isolated from strains mentioned in Example 2 according to methods described (Maniatis et al, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1989). Genomic libraries were prepared for each of these selected strains using the ZAP Express® cloning system available from Stratagene. The host/vector system was used according to the instructions of the supplier (Catalog # 239212, Jun. 30, 1993). For construction either partial Sau3A digest ligated into the BamH1 site or randomly sheared DNA supplied with EcoR1 linkers ligated into the EcoR1 site were used.

Recombinant phages were transformed into plasmid vectors as recommended by the supplier. These plasmid vectors were tested for expression of xylanase using RBB xylan indicator plates.

Positive colonies were isolated and tested for production of xylanase using the following medium:

Production medium:

4×L B C:

20 g yeast extract

40 g Bacto trypton

10 g NaCl

4 g casaminoacids

fill up to 1 liter with demineralized water add 0.25 ml antifoam and sterilize 20' at 120° C. Colonies are grown during 24 hr at 30° C. under vigourous shaking.

The enzyme was isolated using a heat shock method (10' at 65° C.) to lyse the cells. Xylanase activity was measured as described above. The results of the tests of individual clones are summarized in Table 4.

                  TABLE 4                                                          ______________________________________                                         Xylanase activities of cloned xylanases expressed in E. coli.                    Strain       Clone    Production level (U/ml)                                ______________________________________                                         1-47-3     KEX101   0.6                                                           KEX106 23.7                                                                    KEX107 17                                                                     2-M-1 KEX202 <0.2                                                               KEX203 4.0                                                                    1-43-3 KEX301 40                                                                KEX303 1.1                                                                     KEX304 1.8                                                                    2-26-2 KEX401 12                                                                KEX402 12                                                                      KEX403 43                                                                      KEX404 33                                                                      KEX405 <0.2                                                                    KEX406 17                                                                      KEX407 110                                                                     KEX408 0.8                                                                     KEX409 36                                                                   ______________________________________                                    

It can be concluded that all clones produce xylanase. Although the variability in production level might be due to cloning of partial gene fragments, it most probably can be regarded as a reflection of the diversity of xylanase genes present within the inserts.

EXAMPLE 6

Characterization of selected xylanase encoding inserts

The DNA insert of xylanase producing clones can be characterized by DNA sequencing. The insert of KEX106 was analysed and a gene encoding the alkalitolerant xylanase was identified. The DNA sequence of the gene is shown in SEQ ID NO 1.

A comparison of the amino acid sequence of the encoding protein (SEQ ID NO 2) revealed an homology to xylanase protein sequences, i.e. 93% [Hamamoto et al., 1987, Agric. Biol Chem., 51, 953-955].

The amino acid sequence of xylanases of the present invention can therefore share an identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 2 of higher than 93%, preferably the identity is at least 95%, more preferably the identity is at least 98%, and most preferably more than 99%.

EXAMPLE 7

Identification and cloning of internal fragments of genes encoding alkalitolerant xylanases

As an alternative method to the screening of gene libraries we have worked out a method based on PCR cloning. On the basis of a comparison of numerous xylanase sequences we have designed consensus oligonucleotide primers encompassing conserved sequence boxes. Two types of primers have been designed. One set of primers is for the F-type of xylanase and one set is for the G-type of xylanases.

The following consensus primers have been constructed:

FA: 5' CAC ACT/G CTT/G GTT/G TGG CA 3': forward primer, consensus box 1 (SEQ ID NO 3)

FB: 5' CAT ACT/G TTT/G GTT TGG CA 3': forward primer, consensus box 1 (SEQ ID NO 4)

FR: 5' TC/AG TTT/G ACC/A ACG/A TCC CA 3': reverse primer, consensus box 2 (SEQ ID NO 5)

Primers FA and FB bind to the same consensus box, but due to slight differences in the nucleotide sequence they exhibit complementary specificity.

PCR conditions were as follows: [94° C., 1 min], [50° C., 1 min] and [72° C., 1 min] for 30 cycles. Fragments originating from amplification with F-type primers were purified on agarose gel and subcdoned. Subsequently the DNA sequence was determined.

G_(AF) : 5' GAA/G TAT/C TAT/C ATT/C/A GTN GA: forward primer, consensus box 1 (SEQ ID NO 6)

G_(BF) : 5' GAA/G TAT/C TAT/C GTN GTN GA: forward primer, consensus box 1 (SEQ ID NO 8)

G_(AR) : 5' CG/TN ACN GAC CAA/G TA: reverse primer consensus box 2 (SEQ ID NO 7)

G_(BR) : 5' CG/TN ACA/G CTC CAA/G TA: reverse primer consensus box 2 (SEQ ID NO 9)

G_(CR) : 5' CCR CTR CTK TGR TAN CCY TC: reverse primer consensus box 3 (SEQ ID NO 10)

PCR conditions were as follows: [94° C., 1 min], [40° C., 1 min] and [72° C., 1 min] for 30 cycles.

The first PCR with G-primers was performed with primers constructed on box 1 and box 3. The resulting mixture of fragments of different sizes were subsequently purified from agarose gel (250-340 bp) and subjected to a second round of PCR, now using primers from box 1 and box 2. Unique fragments were amplified and subcloned. The blunt-end repair of the PCR fragments was performed in the PCR mix by adding 0.5 mM ATP (Boehringer Mannheim), 10 u T4 DNA kinase (BRL), 1 u T4 DNA polymerase (BRL) and incubation at 37° C. for 1 hour. The mixture was purified using the PCR extraction kit from Qiagen. The fragment was ligated into the pUC18×SmaI (ClAP) vector obtained from Appligene according to Maniatis. E. coli HB101laqlq was transformed with the ligation mixture using electroporation. The DNA sequence of a number of individual clones was determined.

From the analysis it has become apparent that the selected strains harbor several different xylanase genes, some of which may be cloned by the F-type consensus primers and other which may be cloned by the G-type of primers. As an example several different internal xylanase fragments originating from strains 1-43-3, 1-47-3, 1-M-1, 2-26-2 (all F-type) and 1-43-3 and 1-25-2 (all G-type) are depicted in the sequence listings (see Table 5).

                  TABLE 5                                                          ______________________________________                                         Strain    Consensus primers used                                                                        Sequence listing                                      ______________________________________                                         1-43-3    F-type         SEQ ID NO 11                                            1-47-3 F-type SEQ ID NO 12                                                     2-26-2 F-type SEQ ID NO 13                                                     2-M-1 F-type SEQ ID NO 14                                                      1-25-2 G1-type SEQ ID NO 15                                                    1-43-3 G1-type SEQ ID NO 16                                                    1-43-3 G2-type SEQ ID NO 17                                                  ______________________________________                                    

The cloned internal fragment are subsequently used as a specific probe to isolated the cloned gene fragments from the lambdaZAP gene library using stringent hybridisation conditions. All cloned genes can be isolated using this method.

The method is especially advantageous for those genes that do not express well from their native gene regulatory signals in E.coli, since these genes would escape from detection in the method described in example 5. Using subcloning methods and DNA sequence analysis the complete genes encoding the various alkalitolerant xylanases can be isolated and equipped with expression signals for production in E.coli.

EXAMPLE 8

Further characterization of xylanase clones

With the aid of both the consensus primers and specific primers a further characterization of the clones mentioned in example 5 was performed. It became apparent that there is a clustering of xylanase genes on several of the cloned inserts. On the basis of this inventory single genes were subcdoned in expression vectors for both E. coli and Bacillus subtilis. Expression of monocomponent xylanases was obtained upon transformation into E.coli and Bacillus respectively. The Bacillus expression system was based on the PlugBug® technology [ref 1]

EXAMPLE 9

Characterization of selected G-type xylanase encoding insert

The insert of clone KEX301 was analysed and an open reading frame encoding a G-type xylanase was identified. The sequence of this ORF is given in SEQ ID NO 18 and the derived amino acid sequence for the xylanase in SEQ ID NO 19. A search for homologous genes within the EMBL database (release 39, version 2) showed that the sequence of G1 xylanase is unique. No DNA homology of more than 68% was detected. Also the protein sequence was compared to the database sequences. The closest homology (72%) was found with a xynY xylanase sequence (Yu et al. 1993, J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 3, 139-145).

The amino acid sequence of xylanases of the present invention can therefore share an identity with the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO 19 of at least 72%, preferably the identity is at least 80%, more preferably the identity is at least 90%, still more preferably the identity is at least 95%, and most preferably more than 99%.

ref1: Quax, W. J. et al, 1993, in Industrial Microorganisms: Basic and Applied Molecular Genetics, ASM, Washington D.C., p143.

EXAMPLE 10

Pulp bleaching experiments with supernatants from deposited strains

All experiments were elemental chlorine free (ECF) bleaching with a XwDED bleach sequence. Enzyme treatments on pulp were for two ours at pH 9.0 and 65° C. To ensure proper temperature throughout the experiment the pulp has been heated in the microwave to 65° C. before adding enzyme. Experiments were run at a pulp consistency of 10%, which was adjusted by adding pH adjusted tap water. A summary of the ECF bleaching data for xylanase containing culture supernatants of the deposited strains is shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Brightness increase expresses as Δ Final ISO Brightness over the non-enzymatically treated control for the supernatants of the deposited strains and for the reference Cartazyme GT 630 (Sandoz).

                  TABLE 6                                                          ______________________________________                                         Brightness increase expresses as Δ Final ISO Brightness over the          non-enzymatically treated control for the supernatants of the                  deposited strains and for the reference Cartazyme GT 630 (Sandoz).              Strain/Enzyme     Softwood Hardwood                                          ______________________________________                                         1.43.3          3.55     1.45                                                    1.47.3 1.45 1.99                                                               2.47.1 1.8 1.55                                                                1.25.2 3.15 1.45                                                               2.M.1 0 0.4                                                                    1.16.2 1.55 0.5                                                                2.26.2 0 0.9                                                                   GT 630 0 0                                                                   ______________________________________                                    

Before each bleaching experiment every enzyme containing supernatant was assayed for xylanase activity at pH 9.0, 65° C. In the bleaching experiments 2 xylanase units per gram of oven dried pulp were used for each supernatant. Supernatant activities were determined the same day the enzyme bleaching stage was run.

EXAMPLE 11

Pulp bleaching with cloned xylanase genes expressed in E.coli

Xylanases obtained from three of the E.coli clones expressing cloned xylanase genes obtained from the deposited strains were tested in pulp bleaching experiments as described in Example 10. The E.coli clones were cultured as described in Example 5. Recombinant enzyme was isolated from the E.coli bacteria in one of three ways:

1. Whole lysate

In this case, the whole cell culture (cells+spent growth medium) was harvested. Cells were disrupted by sonication followed by heat at 65° C. for 10 minutes. The lysates were then clarified by centrifugation.

2. Cell pellet

Cells were separated from spent medium by centrifugation. Cell pellets were resuspended at 10 ml/g wet weight in 50 mM Tris/HCl, pH 7.0 buffer. The cell suspension was then sonicated and heated as described for "whole lysate".

3 Culture supernatant

Spent growth medium was separated from whole cells by centrifugation. The clarified medium was then diafiltered (tangential flow, 10,000 MWCO membrane) to reduce the total volume and exchange the liquid 50 mM Tris/HCl, pH 7.0 buffer.

The results of the bleaching experiments are shown in Table 7.

                  TABLE 7                                                          ______________________________________                                         Pulp bleaching with cloned xylanase genes expressed in E. coli                   Parental            source of                                                                               Δ Final ISO Brightness*                   strain                                                                               Clone #     enzyme     Soft-wood                                                                             Hard-wood                                  ______________________________________                                         1-47-3                                                                               KEX106      whole lysate                                                                              decrease                                                                              decrease                                     1-43-3 KEX301 whole lysate 3.2 n.d.**                                            cell pellet 3.4 0.7                                                            cell pellet n.d. 1.0                                                           culture sup. 3.6 1.5                                                         1-43-3 KEX303 cell pellet 3.2 1.6                                                culture sup. n.d. 1.0                                                      ______________________________________                                          *over nonenzymatically treated control                                         **n.d. = not determined                                                  

EXAMPLE 12

Identification of the deposited strains

Most of these strains have been send to the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH (DSM) for an independent identification using comparisons of 16S ribosomal DNA sequences as described by Nielsen et al. (1994, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 117, 61-65). Seciicaly,strains 2-47-1; 2-M-1; 2-16-1; 1-47-3; 1-16-2; 1-25-2; 1-43-3; and 2-26-2 were deposited on Dec. 23, 1993 and have deposit numbers CBS666.93; CBS667.93; CBS668.93; CBS669.93; CBS670.93; CBS671.93; CBS672.93; and CBS673.93; respectively. These deposits were made under the terms of the Budapest Treaty and upon issuance of a patent on this application, all restrictions imposed by the depositor on availability to the public of the deposited material will be irrevocably removed. The results of this identification are provided in Table 8. On the basis of this sequence comparison the eight strains can be assigned to the genus Bacillus and among the known Bacilli, they are most related to B.alcalophilus (DSM 485^(T)).

The sequence comparison further shows that the eight strains fall into two groups. The first group is very similar or almost identical to DSM 8721 and comprises strains 1-16-2, 1-25-2, and 1-43-3 (CBS 670.93, 671.93, 672,93, respectively). The second group is most related to DSM 8718 and comprises strains 2-47-1, 2-M-1, 1-47-3 and 2-26-2 (CBS 666.93, 667.93, 669.93 and 673.93), respectively.

The xylanases of the invention are preferably obtainable from the first group of strains, i.e. the strains most related to DSM 8721 (comprising 1-16-2, 1-25-2, and 1-43-3). The xylanases of the present invention are therefore obtainable from Bacillus strains of which the 16S ribosomal DNA sequence shares at least 92% identity with strain DSM 8721, preferably the identity is at least 93.3%, more preferably at least 96.6%, still more preferably at least 99%, and in the most preferred embodiment the identity is 100%.

                                      TABLE 8                                      __________________________________________________________________________     16S rDNA sequence similarities of the deposited strains                          to some alkaliphilic Bacilli                                                 __________________________________________________________________________     Strain   1   2  3  4  5   6  7   8  9  10 11                                   __________________________________________________________________________       1. 1-9A-1(93-509) --                                                           2. 1-43-3(93-510) 99.2 --                                                      3. 2-47-1(93-511) 89.4 88.6 --                                                 4. 2-26-2(93-512) 89.5 88.9 99.6 --                                            5. 1-25-2(93-513) 100.0  98.6 89.3 89.3 --                                     6. 1-47-3(93-514) 89.6 89.7 99.9 99.5 89.7 --                                  7. 1-16-2(93-515) 100.0  99.2 89.5 89.5 100.0  89.8 --                         8. 2-M-1(93-516) 89.6 89.5 99.9 99.8 89.5 99.7 89.7 --                         9. B. alcalophilus 91.3 90.7 95.8 96.1 91.6 95.6 91.4 95.8 --                  10 B. colinii 88.0 87.4 92.4 92.1 87.2 92.0 88.0 92.0 93.4 --                  11. DSM 8714 89.6 88.6 92.6 92.2 89.3 92.5 89.7 92.4 94.9 91.9 --                                                       12. DSM 8715 90.4 89.4 94.4                                                   94.3 90.6 94.3 90.5 94.3 96.4                                                  94.0 94.8                              13. DSM 8716 89.6 88.7 93.3 92.8 89.6 93.0 89.8 92.9 95.0 92.0 96.0                                                     14. DSM 8717 90.3 89.4 93.7                                                   93.4 89.6 93.3 90.4 93.5 95.6                                                  93.1 96.8                              15. DSM 8718 88.8 88.0 98.9 99.3 89.5 99.0 88.9 99.1 96.3 93.7 93.6                                                     16. DSM 8719 87.9 87.0 92.8                                                   92.6 87.2 92.5 97.8 92.6 93.0                                                  97.2 90.7                              17. DSM 8720 95.6 94.6 92.5 92.4 95.6 92.5 95.6 92.5 93.3 91.7 90.9                                                     18. DSM 8721 100.0  99.4 90.6                                                 90.2 100.0  90.5 100.0  90.2                                                   93.2 91.1 91.4                         19. DSM 8722 90.0 89.1 92.3 92.1 90.3 92.0 90.1 92.1 94.7 92.1 94.6                                                     20. DSM 8723 87.5 86.7 93.3                                                   92.8 86.8 92.9 87.5 93.0 93.3                                                  97.6 91.3                              21. DSM 8724 91.3 90.3 95.7 96.1 91.7 95.6 91.4 95.8 99.9 93.3 94.8                                                     22. DSM 8725 89.6 89.2 94.6                                                   94.3 90.0 94.3 89.7 94.6 98.1                                                  93.1 94.4                              23. B. subtilis 89.2 88.3 91.9 91.7 89.9 91.9 89.2 91.7 92.6 93.9            __________________________________________________________________________                                               91.4                                 Strain   12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23                                   __________________________________________________________________________       1. 1-9A-1(93-509)                                                              2. 1-43-3(93-510)                                                              3. 2-47-1(93-511)                                                              4. 2-26-2(93-512)                                                              5. 1-25-2(93-513)                                                              6. 1-47-3(93-514)                                                              7. 1-16-2(93-515)                                                              8. 2-M-1(93-516)                                                               9. B. alcalophilus                                                             10 B. colinii                                                                  11. DSM 8714                                                                   12. DSM 8715 --                                                                13. DSM 8716 94.8 --                                                           14. DSM 8717 94.2 96.1 --                                                      15. DSM 8718 96.0 94.0 93.8 --                                                 16. DSM 8719 92.8 91.7 92.2 93.5 --                                            17. DSM 8720 93.7 91.5 91.6 93.0 92.1 --                                       18. DSM 8721 93.3 91.9 91.7 92.3 91.0 96.6 --                                  19. DSM 8722 94.8 94.4 94.4 94.0 91.3 92.1 92.1 --                             20. DSM 8723 93.1 92.6 92.9 93.8 98.4 92.0 90.8 91.4 --                        21. DSM 8724 96.2 95.0 95.5 96.2 92.9 93.3 93.2 94.6 93.2 --                   22. DSM 8725 95.9 94.8 94.8 95.4 92.4 93.0 92.2 94.5 92.8 90.1 --                                                       23. B. subtilis 94.1 92.7 91.5                                                93.5 93.3 91.5 91.5 91.6 93.7                                                  92.5 92.9                            __________________________________________________________________________

    __________________________________________________________________________     #             SEQUENCE LISTING                                                    - -  - - (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:                                              - -    (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 20                                           - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 1191 base - #pairs                                                 (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 1-47-3                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS669.93                                  - -     (ix) FEATURE:                                                                   (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 1..1191                                                          (D) OTHER INFORMATION: - #/product= "xylanase"                        - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:1:                                - - ATG ATT ACA CTT TTT ACA AAG CCT TTT GTT GC - #T GGA CTA GCG ATC         TCT       48                                                                     Met Ile Thr Leu Phe Thr Lys Pro Phe Val Al - #a Gly Leu Ala Ile Ser             1               5 - #                 10 - #                 15               - - TTA TTA GTA GGT AGG GGG CTA GGC AAT GTA GC - #T GCT GCT CAA GGA GGA            96                                                                        Leu Leu Val Gly Arg Gly Leu Gly Asn Val Al - #a Ala Ala Gln Gly Gly                         20     - #             25     - #             30                   - - CCA CCA CAA TCT GGA GTC TTT GGA GAG AAT CA - #C AAA AGA AAT GAT CAG           144                                                                        Pro Pro Gln Ser Gly Val Phe Gly Glu Asn Hi - #s Lys Arg Asn Asp Gln                     35         - #         40         - #         45                       - - CCT TTT GCA TGG CAA GTT GCT TCT CTT TCT GA - #G CGA TAT CAA GAG CAG           192                                                                        Pro Phe Ala Trp Gln Val Ala Ser Leu Ser Gl - #u Arg Tyr Gln Glu Gln                 50             - #     55             - #     60                           - - TTT GAT ATT GGA GCT CCG GTT GAG CCC TAT CA - #A TTA GAA GGA AGA CAA           240                                                                        Phe Asp Ile Gly Ala Pro Val Glu Pro Tyr Gl - #n Leu Glu Gly Arg Gln             65                 - # 70                 - # 75                 - # 80        - - GCC CAA ATT TTA AAG CAT CAT TAT AAC AGC CT - #T GTG GCG GAA AAT GCA           288                                                                        Ala Gln Ile Leu Lys His His Tyr Asn Ser Le - #u Val Ala Glu Asn Ala                             85 - #                 90 - #                 95               - - ATG AAA CCT GTA TCA CTC CAG CCA AGA GAA GG - #T GAG TGG AAC TGG GAA           336                                                                        Met Lys Pro Val Ser Leu Gln Pro Arg Glu Gl - #y Glu Trp Asn Trp Glu                        100      - #           105      - #           110                   - - GGC GCT GAC AAA ATT GTG GAG TTT GCC CGC AA - #A CAT AAC ATG GAG CTT           384                                                                        Gly Ala Asp Lys Ile Val Glu Phe Ala Arg Ly - #s His Asn Met Glu Leu                    115          - #       120          - #       125                       - - CGC TTC CAC ACA CTC GTT TGG CAT AGC CAA GT - #A CCA GAA TGG TTT TTC           432                                                                        Arg Phe His Thr Leu Val Trp His Ser Gln Va - #l Pro Glu Trp Phe Phe                130              - #   135              - #   140                           - - ATC GAT GAA AAT GGC AAT CGG ATG GTT GAT GA - #A ACC GAT CCA GAA AAA           480                                                                        Ile Asp Glu Asn Gly Asn Arg Met Val Asp Gl - #u Thr Asp Pro Glu Lys            145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -       #60                                                                               - - CGT AAA GCG AAT AAA CAA TTG TTA TTG GAG CG - #A ATG GAA AAC CAT         ATT      528                                                                     Arg Lys Ala Asn Lys Gln Leu Leu Leu Glu Ar - #g Met Glu Asn His Ile                           165  - #               170  - #               175               - - AAA ACG GTT GTT GAA CGT TAT AAA GAT GAT GT - #G ACT TCA TGG GAT GTG           576                                                                        Lys Thr Val Val Glu Arg Tyr Lys Asp Asp Va - #l Thr Ser Trp Asp Val                        180      - #           185      - #           190                   - - GTG AAT GAA GTT ATT GAT GAT GGC GGG GGC CT - #C CGT GAA TCA GAA TGG           624                                                                        Val Asn Glu Val Ile Asp Asp Gly Gly Gly Le - #u Arg Glu Ser Glu Trp                    195          - #       200          - #       205                       - - TAT CAA ATA ACA GGC ACT GAC TAC ATT AAG GT - #A GCT TTT GAA ACT GCA           672                                                                        Tyr Gln Ile Thr Gly Thr Asp Tyr Ile Lys Va - #l Ala Phe Glu Thr Ala                210              - #   215              - #   220                           - - AGA AAA TAT GGT GGT GAA GAG GCA AAG CTG TA - #C ATT AAT GAT TAC AAC           720                                                                        Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gly Glu Glu Ala Lys Leu Ty - #r Ile Asn Asp Tyr Asn            225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -       #40                                                                               - - ACC GAA GTA CCT TCT AAA AGA GAT GAC CTT TA - #C AAC CTG GTG AAA         GAC      768                                                                     Thr Glu Val Pro Ser Lys Arg Asp Asp Leu Ty - #r Asn Leu Val Lys Asp                           245  - #               250  - #               255               - - TTA TTA GAG CAA GGA GTA CCA ATT GAC GGG GT - #A GGA CAT CAG TCT CAT           816                                                                        Leu Leu Glu Gln Gly Val Pro Ile Asp Gly Va - #l Gly His Gln Ser His                        260      - #           265      - #           270                   - - ATC CAA ATC GGC TGG CCT TCC ATT GAA GAT AC - #A AGA GCT TCT TTT GAA           864                                                                        Ile Gln Ile Gly Trp Pro Ser Ile Glu Asp Th - #r Arg Ala Ser Phe Glu                    275          - #       280          - #       285                       - - AAG TTT ACG AGT TTA GGA TTA GAC AAC CAA GT - #A ACT GAA CTA GAC ATG           912                                                                        Lys Phe Thr Ser Leu Gly Leu Asp Asn Gln Va - #l Thr Glu Leu Asp Met                290              - #   295              - #   300                           - - AGT CTT TAT GGC TGG CCA CCG ACA GGG GCC TA - #T ACC TCT TAT GAC GAC           960                                                                        Ser Leu Tyr Gly Trp Pro Pro Thr Gly Ala Ty - #r Thr Ser Tyr Asp Asp            305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -       #20                                                                               - - ATT CCA GAA GAG CTT TTT CAA GCT CAA GCA GA - #C CGT TAT GAT CAG         TTA     1008                                                                     Ile Pro Glu Glu Leu Phe Gln Ala Gln Ala As - #p Arg Tyr Asp Gln Leu                           325  - #               330  - #               335               - - TTT GAG TTA TAT GAA GAA TTA AGC GCT ACT AT - #C AGT AGT GTA ACC TTC          1056                                                                        Phe Glu Leu Tyr Glu Glu Leu Ser Ala Thr Il - #e Ser Ser Val Thr Phe                        340      - #           345      - #           350                   - - TGG GGA ATT GCT GAT AAC CAT ACA TGG CTT GA - #T GAC CGC GCT AGA GAG          1104                                                                        Trp Gly Ile Ala Asp Asn His Thr Trp Leu As - #p Asp Arg Ala Arg Glu                    355          - #       360          - #       365                       - - TAC AAT AAT GGA GTA GGG GTC GAT GCA CCA TT - #T GTT TTT GAT CAC AAC          1152                                                                        Tyr Asn Asn Gly Val Gly Val Asp Ala Pro Ph - #e Val Phe Asp His Asn                370              - #   375              - #   380                           - - TAT CGA GTG AAG CCT GCT TAC TGG AGA ATT AT - #T GAT TAA                   - #   1191                                                                     Tyr Arg Val Lys Pro Ala Tyr Trp Arg Ile Il - #e Asp  *                         385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                             - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH:  396 ami - #no acids                                               (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                            - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:2:                                - - Met Ile Thr Leu Phe Thr Lys Pro Phe Val Al - #a Gly Leu Ala Ile Ser         1               5 - #                 10 - #                 15               - - Leu Leu Val Gly Arg Gly Leu Gly Asn Val Al - #a Ala Ala Gln Gly Gly                    20     - #             25     - #             30                   - - Pro Pro Gln Ser Gly Val Phe Gly Glu Asn Hi - #s Lys Arg Asn Asp Gln                35         - #         40         - #         45                       - - Pro Phe Ala Trp Gln Val Ala Ser Leu Ser Gl - #u Arg Tyr Gln Glu Gln            50             - #     55             - #     60                           - - Phe Asp Ile Gly Ala Pro Val Glu Pro Tyr Gl - #n Leu Glu Gly Arg Gln        65                 - # 70                 - # 75                 - # 80        - - Ala Gln Ile Leu Lys His His Tyr Asn Ser Le - #u Val Ala Glu Asn Ala                        85 - #                 90 - #                 95               - - Met Lys Pro Val Ser Leu Gln Pro Arg Glu Gl - #y Glu Trp Asn Trp Glu                   100      - #           105      - #           110                   - - Gly Ala Asp Lys Ile Val Glu Phe Ala Arg Ly - #s His Asn Met Glu Leu               115          - #       120          - #       125                       - - Arg Phe His Thr Leu Val Trp His Ser Gln Va - #l Pro Glu Trp Phe Phe           130              - #   135              - #   140                           - - Ile Asp Glu Asn Gly Asn Arg Met Val Asp Gl - #u Thr Asp Pro Glu Lys       145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -       #60                                                                               - - Arg Lys Ala Asn Lys Gln Leu Leu Leu Glu Ar - #g Met Glu Asn His         Ile                                                                                              165  - #               170  - #               175              - - Lys Thr Val Val Glu Arg Tyr Lys Asp Asp Va - #l Thr Ser Trp Asp Val                   180      - #           185      - #           190                   - - Val Asn Glu Val Ile Asp Asp Gly Gly Gly Le - #u Arg Glu Ser Glu Trp               195          - #       200          - #       205                       - - Tyr Gln Ile Thr Gly Thr Asp Tyr Ile Lys Va - #l Ala Phe Glu Thr Ala           210              - #   215              - #   220                           - - Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gly Glu Glu Ala Lys Leu Ty - #r Ile Asn Asp Tyr Asn       225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -       #40                                                                               - - Thr Glu Val Pro Ser Lys Arg Asp Asp Leu Ty - #r Asn Leu Val Lys         Asp                                                                                              245  - #               250  - #               255              - - Leu Leu Glu Gln Gly Val Pro Ile Asp Gly Va - #l Gly His Gln Ser His                   260      - #           265      - #           270                   - - Ile Gln Ile Gly Trp Pro Ser Ile Glu Asp Th - #r Arg Ala Ser Phe Glu               275          - #       280          - #       285                       - - Lys Phe Thr Ser Leu Gly Leu Asp Asn Gln Va - #l Thr Glu Leu Asp Met           290              - #   295              - #   300                           - - Ser Leu Tyr Gly Trp Pro Pro Thr Gly Ala Ty - #r Thr Ser Tyr Asp Asp       305                 3 - #10                 3 - #15                 3 -       #20                                                                               - - Ile Pro Glu Glu Leu Phe Gln Ala Gln Ala As - #p Arg Tyr Asp Gln         Leu                                                                                              325  - #               330  - #               335              - - Phe Glu Leu Tyr Glu Glu Leu Ser Ala Thr Il - #e Ser Ser Val Thr Phe                   340      - #           345      - #           350                   - - Trp Gly Ile Ala Asp Asn His Thr Trp Leu As - #p Asp Arg Ala Arg Glu               355          - #       360          - #       365                       - - Tyr Asn Asn Gly Val Gly Val Asp Ala Pro Ph - #e Val Phe Asp His Asn           370              - #   375              - #   380                           - - Tyr Arg Val Lys Pro Ala Tyr Trp Arg Ile Il - #e Asp                       385                 3 - #90                 3 - #95                             - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 17 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #FA                                         - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:3:                                - - CACACKCTKG TKTGGCA             - #                  - #                       - #   17                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 17 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #FB                                         - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:4:                                - - CATACKTTKG TTTGGCA             - #                  - #                       - #   17                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 17 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #FR                                         - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5:                                - - TMGTTKACMA CRTCCCA             - #                  - #                       - #   17                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 17 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #GAF                                        - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:6:                                - - GARTAYTAYA THGTNGA             - #                  - #                       - #   17                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 14 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #GAR                                        - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7:                                - - CKNACNGACC ARTA              - #                  - #                       - #     14                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 17 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #GBF                                        - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8:                                - - GARTAYTAYG TNGTNGA             - #                  - #                       - #   17                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:9:                                      - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 14 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #GBR                                        - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:9:                                - - CKNACRCTCC ARTA              - #                  - #                       - #     14                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 20 base - #pairs                                                   (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: single                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #GCR                                        - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10:                               - - CCRCTRCTKT GRTANCCYTC            - #                  - #                       - # 20                                                                    - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 142 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 1-43-3                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS672.93                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11:                               - - CATAGCCAAG TACCTGAATG GTTTTTCATC GATAAAGACG GTAATCGTAT GG -              #TAGATGAA     60                                                                  - - ACAAATCCAG CGAAACGTGA GGCTAATAAA CAGCTTTTAT TAGAGCGGAT GG -             #AAACACAT    120                                                                  - - ATCAAAACGG TTGTGGAACG TT           - #                  - #                     142                                                                      - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 194 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 1-47-3                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS669.93                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12:                               - - CACACGCTGG TTTGGCATAG CCAAGTACCA GAATGGTTTT TCATCGATGA AA -              #ATGGCAAT     60                                                                  - - CGGATGGTTG ATGAAACCGA TCCAGAAAAA CGTAAAGCGA ATAAACAATT GT -             #TATTGGAG    120                                                                  - - CGAATGGAAA ACCATATTAA AACGGTTGTT GAACGTTATA AAGATGATGT GA -             #CTTCATGG    180                                                                  - - GACGTGGTAA ACGA              - #                  - #                       - #    194                                                                   - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 194 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 2-26-2                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS673.93                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13:                               - - CACACGCTGG TTTGGCACAG CCAAGTACCA GAATGGTTTT TCATCGATGA AG -              #ACGGCAAT     60                                                                  - - CGGATGGTGG ATGAAACAGA CCCAGATAAA CGTGAAGCGA ATAAACAGCT GT -             #TATTGGAG    120                                                                  - - CGCATGGAAA ACCATATTAA AACGGTTGTT GAACGTTATA AAGATGATGT GA -             #CTTCATGG    180                                                                  - - GACGTGGTCA ACGA              - #                  - #                       - #    194                                                                   - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 194 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 2-m-1                                                              (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS667.93                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14:                               - - CACACTCTTG TTTGGCATAG CCAAGTACCA GAATGGTTTT TCATCGATGA AA -              #ATGGCAAT     60                                                                  - - CGGATGGTTG ATGAAACCGA TCCAGAAAAA CGTAAAGCGA ATAAACAATT GT -             #TATTGGAG    120                                                                  - - CGAATGGAAA ACCATATTAA AACGGTTGTT GAACGTTATA AAGATGATGT GA -             #CTTCATGG    180                                                                  - - GACGTGGTAA ACGA              - #                  - #                       - #    194                                                                   - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 164 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 1-25-2                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS671.93                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15:                               - - GAATATTATA TTGTCGACAG TTGGGGCAAC TGGCGTCCAC CAGGAGCAAC GC -              #CTAAGGGA     60                                                                  - - ACCATCACTG TTGATGGAGG AACATATGAT ATCTATGAAA CTCTTAGAGT CA -             #ATCAGCCC    120                                                                  - - TCCATTAAGG GGATTGCCAC ATTTAAACAA TATTGGAGCG TCCG   - #                       - #164                                                                      - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 164 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 1-43-3                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS672.93                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16:                               - - GAATATTATA TTGTCGACAG TTGGGGCAAC TGGCGTCCAC CAGGAGCAAC GC -              #CTAAGGGA     60                                                                  - - ACCATCACTG TTGATGGAGG AACATATGAT ATCTATGAAA CTCTTAGAGT CA -             #ATCAGCCC    120                                                                  - - TCCATTAAGG GGATTGCCAC ATTTAAACAA TATTGGAGCG TCCG   - #                       - #164                                                                      - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 164 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 1-43-3                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS672.93                                  - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17:                               - - GAATATTACA TCGTTGATAG CTGGGGAAGC TGGCGTCCAC CAGGAGCTAA CG -              #CAAAAGGA     60                                                                  - - ACGATTACTG TTGACGGTGG TGTTTACGAT ATTTATGAAA CAACTCGAGT TA -             #ACCAACCT    120                                                                  - - TCCATTATTG GAGATGCGAC TTTCCAACAG TACTGGAGTG TGCG   - #                       - #164                                                                      - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 744 base - #pairs                                                  (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO                                                    - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (B) STRAIN: 1-43-3                                                             (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #CBS672.93                                  - -     (ix) FEATURE:                                                                   (A) NAME/KEY: CDS                                                              (B) LOCATION: 1..744                                                           (D) OTHER INFORMATION: - #/product= "xylanase"                        - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18:                               - - ATG AGC CAA AAG AAA TTG ACG TTG ATT AAC CT - #T TTT AGT TTG TTT GCA            48                                                                        Met Ser Gln Lys Lys Leu Thr Leu Ile Asn Le - #u Phe Ser Leu Phe Ala                    400          - #       405          - #       410                       - - CTA ACC TTA CCT GCA AGA ATA AGT CAG GCA CA - #A ATC GTC ACC GAC AAT            96                                                                        Leu Thr Leu Pro Ala Arg Ile Ser Gln Ala Gl - #n Ile Val Thr Asp Asn                415              - #   420              - #   425                           - - TCC ATT GCC ACC CGC GGT GGT TAT GAT TAT GA - #A TTT TGG AAA GAT AGC           144                                                                        Ser Ile Ala Thr Arg Gly Gly Tyr Asp Tyr Gl - #u Phe Trp Lys Asp Ser            430                 4 - #35                 4 - #40                 4 -       #45                                                                               - - GGT GGC TCT GGG ACA ATG ATT CTC AAT CAT GG - #C GGT ACG TTC AGT         GCC      192                                                                     Gly Gly Ser Gly Thr Met Ile Leu Asn His Gl - #y Gly Thr Phe Ser Ala                           450  - #               455  - #               460               - - CAA TGG AAT AAT GTT AAC AAT ATA TTA TTC CG - #T AAA GGT AAA AAA TTC           240                                                                        Gln Trp Asn Asn Val Asn Asn Ile Leu Phe Ar - #g Lys Gly Lys Lys Phe                        465      - #           470      - #           475                   - - AAT GAA ACA CAA ACA CAC CAA CAA GTT GGT AA - #C ATG TCC ATA AAC TAT           288                                                                        Asn Glu Thr Gln Thr His Gln Gln Val Gly As - #n Met Ser Ile Asn Tyr                    480          - #       485          - #       490                       - - GGC GCA AAC TTC CAG CCA AAC GGT AAT GCG TA - #T TTA TGC GTC TAT GGT           336                                                                        Gly Ala Asn Phe Gln Pro Asn Gly Asn Ala Ty - #r Leu Cys Val Tyr Gly                495              - #   500              - #   505                           - - TGG ACT GTT GAC CCT CTT GTT GAA TAT TAT AT - #T GTC GAC AGT TGG GGC           384                                                                        Trp Thr Val Asp Pro Leu Val Glu Tyr Tyr Il - #e Val Asp Ser Trp Gly            510                 5 - #15                 5 - #20                 5 -       #25                                                                               - - AAC TGG CGT CCA CCA GGA GCA ACG CCT AAG GG - #A ACC ATC ACT GTT         GAT      432                                                                     Asn Trp Arg Pro Pro Gly Ala Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Thr Ile Thr Val Asp                           530  - #               535  - #               540               - - GGA GGA ACA TAT GAT ATC TAT GAA ACT CTT AG - #A GTC AAT CAG CCC TCC           480                                                                        Gly Gly Thr Tyr Asp Ile Tyr Glu Thr Leu Ar - #g Val Asn Gln Pro Ser                        545      - #           550      - #           555                   - - ATT AAG GGG ATT GCC ACA TTT AAA CAA TAT TG - #G AGT GTC CGA AGA TCG           528                                                                        Ile Lys Gly Ile Ala Thr Phe Lys Gln Tyr Tr - #p Ser Val Arg Arg Ser                    560          - #       565          - #       570                       - - AAA CGC ACG AGT GGC ACA ATT TCT GTC AGC AA - #C CAC TTT AGA GCG TGG           576                                                                        Lys Arg Thr Ser Gly Thr Ile Ser Val Ser As - #n His Phe Arg Ala Trp                575              - #   580              - #   585                           - - GAA AAC TTA GGG ATG AAC ATG GGG AAA ATG TA - #T GAA GTC GCG CTT ACT           624                                                                        Glu Asn Leu Gly Met Asn Met Gly Lys Met Ty - #r Glu Val Ala Leu Thr            590                 5 - #95                 6 - #00                 6 -       #05                                                                               - - GTA GAA GGC TAT CAA AGT AGC GGA AGT GCT AA - #T GTA TAT AGC AAT         ACA      672                                                                     Val Glu Gly Tyr Gln Ser Ser Gly Ser Ala As - #n Val Tyr Ser Asn Thr                           610  - #               615  - #               620               - - CTA AGA ATT AAC GGA AAC CCT CTC TCA ACT AT - #T AGT AAT AAC GAG AGC           720                                                                        Leu Arg Ile Asn Gly Asn Pro Leu Ser Thr Il - #e Ser Asn Asn Glu Ser                        625      - #           630      - #           635                   - - ATA ACT CTA GAT AAA AAC AAT TAG     - #                  - #                    744                                                                      Ile Thr Leu Asp Lys Asn Asn  *                                                         640          - #       645                                              - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH:  247 ami - #no acids                                               (B) TYPE: amino acid                                                           (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein                                            - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19:                               - - Met Ser Gln Lys Lys Leu Thr Leu Ile Asn Le - #u Phe Ser Leu Phe Ala         1               5 - #                 10 - #                 15               - - Leu Thr Leu Pro Ala Arg Ile Ser Gln Ala Gl - #n Ile Val Thr Asp Asn                    20     - #             25     - #             30                   - - Ser Ile Ala Thr Arg Gly Gly Tyr Asp Tyr Gl - #u Phe Trp Lys Asp Ser                35         - #         40         - #         45                       - - Gly Gly Ser Gly Thr Met Ile Leu Asn His Gl - #y Gly Thr Phe Ser Ala            50             - #     55             - #     60                           - - Gln Trp Asn Asn Val Asn Asn Ile Leu Phe Ar - #g Lys Gly Lys Lys Phe        65                 - # 70                 - # 75                 - # 80        - - Asn Glu Thr Gln Thr His Gln Gln Val Gly As - #n Met Ser Ile Asn Tyr                        85 - #                 90 - #                 95               - - Gly Ala Asn Phe Gln Pro Asn Gly Asn Ala Ty - #r Leu Cys Val Tyr Gly                   100      - #           105      - #           110                   - - Trp Thr Val Asp Pro Leu Val Glu Tyr Tyr Il - #e Val Asp Ser Trp Gly               115          - #       120          - #       125                       - - Asn Trp Arg Pro Pro Gly Ala Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Thr Ile Thr Val Asp           130              - #   135              - #   140                           - - Gly Gly Thr Tyr Asp Ile Tyr Glu Thr Leu Ar - #g Val Asn Gln Pro Ser       145                 1 - #50                 1 - #55                 1 -       #60                                                                               - - Ile Lys Gly Ile Ala Thr Phe Lys Gln Tyr Tr - #p Ser Val Arg Arg         Ser                                                                                              165  - #               170  - #               175              - - Lys Arg Thr Ser Gly Thr Ile Ser Val Ser As - #n His Phe Arg Ala Trp                   180      - #           185      - #           190                   - - Glu Asn Leu Gly Met Asn Met Gly Lys Met Ty - #r Glu Val Ala Leu Thr               195          - #       200          - #       205                       - - Val Glu Gly Tyr Gln Ser Ser Gly Ser Ala As - #n Val Tyr Ser Asn Thr           210              - #   215              - #   220                           - - Leu Arg Ile Asn Gly Asn Pro Leu Ser Thr Il - #e Ser Asn Asn Glu Ser       225                 2 - #30                 2 - #35                 2 -       #40                                                                               - - Ile Thr Leu Asp Lys Asn Asn                                                               245                                                             - -  - - (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:20:                                     - -      (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:                                                  (A) LENGTH: 1521 base - #pairs                                                 (B) TYPE: nucleic acid                                                         (C) STRANDEDNESS: double                                                       (D) TOPOLOGY: linear                                                  - -     (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: DNA (genomic)                                      - -    (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO                                                  - -     (vi) ORIGINAL SOURCE:                                                           (A) ORGANISM: Bacillus - #sp.                                                  (C) INDIVIDUAL ISOLATE: - #DSM 8721                                   - -     (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:20:                               - - GACGAACGCT GGCGGCGTGC CTAATACATG CAAGTCGAGC GCAGGAAGCC GG -             #CGGATCCC     60                                                                  - - TTCGGGGTGA ANCCGGTGGA ATGAGCGGCG GACGGGTGAG TAACACGTGG GC -             #AACCTACC    120                                                                  - - TTGTAGACTG GGATAACTCC GGGAAACCGG GGCTAATACC GGATGATCAT TT -             #GGATCGCA    180                                                                  - - TGATCCGAAT GTAAAAGTGG GGATTTATCC TCACACTGCA AGATGGGCCC GC -             #GGCGCATT    240                                                                  - - AGCTAGTTGG TAAGGTAATG GCTTACCAAG GCGACGATGC GTAGCCGACC TG -             #AGAGGGTG    300                                                                  - - ATCGGCCACA CTGGAACTGA GACACGGTCC AGACTCCTAC GGGAGGCAGC AG -             #TAGGGAAT    360                                                                  - - CATCCGCAAT GGGCGAAAGC CTGACGGTGC AACGCCGCGT GAACGATGAA GG -             #TTTTCGGA    420                                                                  - - TCGTAAAGTT CTGTTATGAG GGAAGAACAA GTGCCGTTCG AATAGGTCGG CA -             #CCTTGACG    480                                                                  - - GTACCTCACG AGAAAGCCCC GGCTAACTAC GTGCCAGCAG CCGCGGTAAT AC -             #GTAGGGGG    540                                                                  - - CAAGCGTTGT CCGGAATTAT TGGGCGTAAA GCGCGCGCAG GCGGTCTCTT AA -             #GTCTGATG    600                                                                  - - TGAAAGCCCA CGGCTCAACC GTGGAGGGTC ATTGGAAACT GGGGGACTTG AG -             #TGTAGGAG    660                                                                  - - AGGAAAGTGG AATTCCACGT GTAGCGGTGA AATGCGTAGA TATGTGGAGG AA -             #CACCAGTG    720                                                                  - - GCGAAGGCGA CTTTCTGGCC TACAACTGAC GCTGAGGCGC GAAAGCGTGG GG -             #AGCAAACA    780                                                                  - - GGATTAGATA CCCTGGTAGT CCACGCCGTA AACGATGAGT GCTAGGTGTT AG -             #GGGTTTCG    840                                                                  - - ATACCCTTAG TGCCGAAGTT AACACATTAA GCACTCCGCC TGGGGAGTAC GG -             #CCGCAAGG    900                                                                  - - CTGAAACTCA AAGGAATTGA CGGGGGCCCG CACAAGCAGT GGAGCATGTG GT -             #TTAATTCG    960                                                                  - - AAGCAACGCG AAGAACCTTA CCAGGTCTTG ACATCCTCTG ACACCTCTGG AG -             #ACAGAGCG   1020                                                                  - - TTCCCCTTCG GGGGACAGAG TGACAGGTGG TGCATGGTTG TCGTCAGCTC GT -             #GTCGTGAG   1080                                                                  - - ATGTTGGGTT AAGTCCCGCA ACGAGCGCAA CCCTTGATCT TAGTTGCCAG CA -             #TTCAGTTG   1140                                                                  - - GGCACTCTAA GGTGACTGCC GGTGATAAAC CGGAGGAAGG TGGGGATGAC GT -             #CAAATCAT   1200                                                                  - - CATGCCCCTT ATGACCTGGG CTACACACGT GCTACAATGG ATGGTACAAA GG -             #GCAGCGAG   1260                                                                  - - ACCGCGAGGT TAAGCGAATC CCATAAAGCC ATTCTCAGTT CGGATTGCAG GC -             #TGCAACTC   1320                                                                  - - GCCTGCATGA AGCCGGAATT GCTAGTAATC GCGGATCAGC ATGCCGCGGT GA -             #ATACGTTC   1380                                                                  - - CCGGGTCTTG TACACACCGC CCGTCACACC ACGAGAGTTT GTAACACCCG AA -             #GTCGGTGC   1440                                                                  - - GGTAACCTTT TGGAGCCAGC CGNCGAAGGT GGGACAGATG ATTGGGGTGA AG -             #TCGTAACA   1500                                                                  - - AGGTATCCCT ACCGGAAGGT G           - #                  - #                     1521                                                                    __________________________________________________________________________ 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated and purified xylanase having activity at pH 9.0 and at a temperature of 70° C. which xylanase produces at least a 1% increase in ISO brightness of soft wood pulp over non-enzymatically treated pulp in an ECF pulp bleaching process conducted at pH 9.0 and 65° C., wherein said xylanase is selected from the group consisting ofa) that contained in the cell culture supernatant of a single strain of a xylanase producing microrganism; b) that contained in a culture of cells modified recombinantly to produce said xylanase; and c) that added to and contained in said ECF pulp bleaching process mixture and wherein said xylanase producing microorganism is Bacillus DSM 8721 and said xylanase shares more than 72% identity with the amino acid sequence as listed in SEQ ID No: 19; or said xylanase shares more than 98% identity with the amino acid sequence as listed in SEQ ID NO:
 2. 2. An isolated and purified xylanase having activity at pH 9.0 and at a temperature of 70° C. which xylanase produces at least a 1% increase in ISO brightness of soft wood pulp over non-enzymatically treated pulp in an ECF pulp bleaching process conducted at pH 9.0 and 65° C., wherein said xylanase is selected from the group consisting ofa) that contained in the cell culture supernatant of a single strain of a xylanase producing organism; b) that contained in a culture of cells modified recombinantly to produce said xylanase; and c) that added to and contained in said ECF pulp bleach process mixture and wherein said microorganism is selected from the group consisting of the strains deposited under the deposition numbers: CBS 666.93, 669.93 and 637.93 and said xylanase shares more than 72% identity with the amino acid sequence as listed in SEQ ID No: 19; or said xylanase shares more than 98% identity with the amino acid sequence as listed in SEQ ID NO:
 2. 3. An isolated DNA sequence encoding a xylanase according to claim 1 or
 2. 4. A vector capable of transforming a microbial host cell wherein said vector comprises a DNA sequence according to claim
 3. 5. The vector of claim 4 wherein said DNA sequence is operably linked to expression signals that ensure the expression of the DNA sequence in the microbial host.
 6. A microbial host which contains a vector according to claim
 4. 7. The microbial host of claim 6 wherein said microbial host expresses the DNA sequence.
 8. A process for the preparation of a xylanase useful in wood processing which method comprises cultivating the microbial host of claim 7 in a suitable medium, followed by recovering said xylanase.
 9. A process for degradation of xylan which process comprises contacting said xylan with a xylanase according to claim 1 or
 2. 10. A process for delignifying wood pulp which process comprises contacting said wood pulp with a xylanase according to claim 1 or
 2. 11. A process for the bleaching of pulp which process comprises contacting said pulp with a xylanase according to claim 1 or
 2. 12. The xylanase of claim 1 or 2 which shares more than 99% identity with the amino acid sequence as listed in SEQ ID NO:2. 